Exhumation and its mechanisms: A review of exhumation studies in the Himalaya

Exhumation has been recognised as a key factor in understanding the dynamics of a mountain belt. Normal faulting, erosion and ductile thinning are the three basic mechanisms to exhume the deeper high grade metamorphic rocks to the surface. Convergent orogenic belts are characterised by over-thickening of the crust due to thrusting and folding. The interplay of uplift due to over-thickening of crust and climatic-erosion is the most plausible mechanism of exhumation as suggested by the numerical models and analogue experiments. The analysis of 534 thermo-chronological dates through 1D-thermal numerical model in the Himalaya suggest that the exhumation is dominantly due to erosion but the pattern of erosion is controlled by local tectonic activities in different sector of the Himalaya since Miocene, indicating that tectonic force as the prime mechanism of exhumation in Himalaya.